Philadelphia Phantoms 4, Hershey Bears 1
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PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Joni Pitkanen recorded three assists as the Philadelphia
Phantoms stayed within three points of the East-Division lead with a 4-1
triumph over the Hershey Bears on Friday. The 6'3" 202-pound defenseman helped
Jon Sim break a scoreless tie late in the first period, set up a power-play
marker by Ben Stafford midway through the second and fed Mark Murphy for a man-
advantage tally at the eight-minute mark of the third. Through Friday, Pitkanen
has 33 assists and 39 points in 75 games this year. Sim added an assist and
R.J. Umberger chipped in with two assists for Philadelphia, which needs a win
combined with a Binghamton loss on Saturday to close the gap to within one
point of the division lead. Antero Niittymaki turned aside 21 of the 22 shots
he faced and helped shut down six Hershey power plays for the win. Peter Budaj,
who stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced over the final 20 minutes, made 36
saves in the hard-luck defeat. Nicolas Corbeil recorded his first career AHL
goal in the loss for the Bears, who will miss the playoffs in consecutive years
for the first time since the 1984-85 campaign.
